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CTNA Debuts First General Winter Tyre

(Akron/Tire Review) A good powerline covers as many applications as possible with quality, solid tyres and profit-delivering pricing. Continental Tire North America (CTNA) put a new twist on its new General Altimax powerline – a winter tyre.

CTNA unveiled the Altimax powerline at last year’s SEMA Show, touting the H- and V-rated Altimax HP and the Altimax RT touring lines – a total of 80 sizes covering 13- through 18-inch diameters – that will hit the market shortly. In January, meanwhile, CTNA took the wraps off the Altimax Arctic, part of the new powerline and the very first General branded winter tyre, according to CTNA.

The tyre was introduced as part of a frosty, two-day program at Big Sky ski resort in Montana attended by tyre and enthusiast media as well as key CTNA dealers.

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Michelin US to Close Ohio Plant

Citing high production costs as the underlying factor, Michelin North America, Inc. has announced plans to close the facility it operates in Mogadore, Ohio and transfer the plant’s tyre production to its BFGoodrich factory in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The Mogadore facility employs approximately 70 people and is involved in the short run production of specialty tyres, such as rock crawling and competition tyres.

The transfer of production to the BFGoodrich plant will begin in July and be complete by late October, and which time the Mogadore plant will close. The BFGoodrich Tuscaloosa facility currently employs approximately 1,275 people and produces BFGoodrich Tire brand passenger car and light truck tyres.

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Goodyear South Africa to Supply OE for New Hummer

Right hand drive versions of GM’s Hummer H3, including those destined for the UK market, will be exclusively shod with products from the Goodyear stable. The right hand drive H3 is scheduled to enter production at GM’s Port Elizabeth, South Africa facility in mid-April, and all vehicles will be fitted with locally produced Goodyear Wrangler tyres. Production of left hand drive export models began last year.

The tyre fitted to the H3 is also currently manufactured by Goodyear North America for US built Hummers. According to Goodyear equipment national manager Norman Newcombe, Goodyear’s factory in Uitenhage, South Africa is one of only two facilities in the world manufacturing this particular tyre – the P256/R16 Wrangler RT/S. Mr. Newcombe added he was “thrilled” that the Uitenhage factory had been chosen to supply the H3.

“The decision is a vote of confidence in Goodyear SA‘s capabilities and facilities,” Newcombe said. He added that because production of this sort of tyre was new to the plant, significant investment had gone into production equipment and staff training.

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CTNA to Raise Commercial Tyre Prices

(Akron/Tire Review) Continental Tire North America (CTNA) announced a price increase of up to 5 per cent on all Continental, General, Semperit and private brand truck tyres.

The increase, which takes effect May 1, is due to the continued escalation of raw material costs, according to CTNA.

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Uniroyal Expands Laredo Cross Country Line

(Akron/Tire Review) Michelin North America is launching four new sizes of the Uniroyal Laredo Cross Country tyre for light trucks and SUVs. Considered a “powerline” tyre, the four new sizes give the line 36 total sizes, covering 90 per cent of the most popular SUVs and pickup trucks, MNA said. The tyre comes with a 60,000-mile limited treadwear warranty.

The new sizes include P255/65R16 106 S, LT235/85R16 LRE, P255/65R17 108 S, and P265/65R17 110 S, and target such light duty vehicles as Dodge Dakota, Durango and Ram 3500; Nissan Frontier, Pathfinder and XTerra; Toyota 4Runner, Sequoia, Tacoma and Tundra; Ford F-250 and F-350; and Lexus GX470, according to MNA.

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Sales and Marketing Appointments at Pirelli North America

Pirelli Tire North America has reorganized its sales and marketing organization. The announcement coincides with the news that Peter Tyson, VP Communications and Motor Sport, Pierluigi Dinelli, Director of Marketing, and Giovanni Ricci, Supply Chain and Pricing will return to management positions in Europe.

The Pirelli North American sales and marketing effort has been re-organized, largely by promotion from within its existing team. Dan O’Shaughnessy is promoted to the newly created position of Regional Sales Director, reporting to Riccardo Cichi, Vice President Sales. He will be responsible for all regional sales and all Pirelli’s Regional Sales Managers will report to him.

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Michelin Man Gets More ‘Socially Responsible’ in New Ads

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(Akron/Tire Review) Michelin North America is launching a new, “multi-tier” marketing campaign in television, radio, print and online media.

The company’s “A Better Way Forward” slogan will be featured on an interactive Web site, a 30-second TV spot called “Workshop,” and a new print ad called “Flex,” which will emphasize the strength and endurance of Michelin tyres.

The interactive Web site is located at www.michelinman.com/forward.

In the new ads, Bibendum – otherwise known as the Michelin Man – has become “a modern, socially responsible icon,” said Michelin.

For example, a 1905 advertisement depicts the Michelin Man with cigar to lips in a French wrestling-style leopard loincloth. Now, a smoke-free, slimmed-down Michelin Man enhances roads and parks as alternatives to sending scrap tyres to landfills. He is shown in the new TV commercial installing recycled rubber material in a children’s playground.

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FedEx Driver’s Save Earns Highway Hero Award

(Akron/Tire Review) A FedEx truck driver from Perris, California, who saved two men trapped in a burning car, was named the 24th winner of Goodyear’s North America Highway Hero award. Edward Regener, who escaped one fire before jumping in to save the men, received the honour earlier this week at the Mid-America Trucking Show.

Regener, a 13-year veteran truck driver, was named the 2006 Highway Hero because of his courage and quick thinking on after a November 4, 2006 accident on I-10 near Phoenix.

The 43-year-old truck driver was headed east on I-10 when he said he saw a westbound car headed his way across the median. At the same time, a pickup truck carrying an engaged couple was attempting to pass Regener. The speeding car collided with the pickup, pushing it into Regener’s truck. The car, resting atop the guardrail, caught fire.

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Conti Launches Conti Curves Ad Push

(Akron/Tire Review) Continental Tire North America has launched a new consumer advertising campaign to support its Continental brand. Called the “Curves” campaign, the new ad series are described as having a “sophisticated new look and feel,” and feature Continental’s deep yellow and black colour scheme and its horse logomark.

The ad series feature three-word headlines, and makes used of the abbreviated “Conti” name. Headlines include Conti Extreme Desire, Conti Pure Passionate, Conti Aggressive Style, Conti Sophisticated Style, Conti Intense Rubber, and Conti 220-MPH Intensity.

“We designed these ads to be elegant, provocative and sophisticated, much like our Continental brand tyres,” said Travis Roffler, CTNA’s marketing director. “They bring our brand an emotionally charged feel, and tell the story more in imagery than in words.”

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Ex-Michelin Man Ghosn Out at Nissan N.A.

(Akron/Tire Review) Former Michelin North America chief Carlos Ghosn has stepped down as CEO of Nissan North America, which recently relocated from Los Angeles to Nashville. Ghosn will retain his posts as CEO of both Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA.

Ghosn is the second top Nissan North America executive to step down in recent weeks, and the second former Michelin executive to do so. Jim Morton, vice chairman of Nissan and former PR chief at Michelin North America, announced his retirement in late February.

Automotive observers praised Ghosn’s move, saying the company needed more focus in North America, and hinted that further shake-ups at Nissan may be in the offing.

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All New Look for General Brand

(Akron/Tire Review) The General Tire brand is alive and well, and even has an all-new look. Continental Tire North America unveiled a new logo and logomark for the General brand, its first such revision in the nearly 20 years that Continental has owned the brand.

The new look was unveiled earlier this week at CTNA’s annual Gold Select Dealer Meeting, held in San Antonio. The new look received an enthusiastic response from the nearly 200 dealers in attendance.

The logo features the words “General Tire” in a strong, modern type style. The large “G” is gone, replaced by a shield with the stylized letters “GT” in the middle.

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Ceat to Build Third Indian Facility

India’s Ceat Tyres is investing approximately £70 million to £80 million in the establishment of the company’s third domestic Greenfield plant. The decision to build such a facility has been prompted by the global demand for commercial vehicle tyres, which the company intends to produce at the new site. Passenger car radials will also be produced at the facility. The Ceat group is presently looking for a suitable site in the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat or the excise-free zones of Uttarakhand. The new capacity will boost the company’s current overall capacity by 100 tonnes per day to 400 tonnes per day.

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Sunny Days

(Akron/Tire Review) Mexico and Kumho Tire U.S.A. have become rather synonymous. For the past several years, the tyremaker has chosen Cancun or Puerto Vallarta as destinations of choice for its annual dealer meeting. This year’s meeting, held Jan. 5-9 in Cancun, was another successful event at a pleasant resort setting.

This time, Kumho added a minor twist to the festivities: dealers got to meet the newly installed CEO and president of Kumho Tire North America B.K. Kim. Don Hun Ham, recently named president of Kumho Tire U.S.A., was unable to attend.

Also on hand were Dave Hudrlik, vice president of sales and marketing; Mike Leverington, director of marketing; Kelvin Oh, general manager and sales coordinator; and Rick Brennan, brand director, all of whom spoke to dealers about the company’s 2006 accomplishments and its plans for 2007.

Parent company Kumho Tire Co. is currently ranked 10th among tyre manufacturers worldwide, with revenue of $1.6 billion in 2006. In the U.S. alone, Kumho has gone from just under $100 million in sales in 1997 to $465 million in revenue in 2006 and is aiming for what it feels is a reachable target of $610 million for 2007. In terms of tyres, Kumho hopes to reach 9.3 million units in the U.S. for 2007, according to the management team.

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Pirelli to Raise US Prices

The cost of Pirelli passenger car and light truck tyres in the US will rise as of April 2007. Pirelli Tire North America has indicated its intention of increasing the price of its passenger car tyre range by up to six per cent, while prices light truck tyres will rise by up to nine per cent. The amount of increase will vary according to product line and/or tyre size.

Pirelli state that the latest increases are the result of escalating raw material and energy costs. The company’s decision to raise prices comes less than a week after both Goodyear and Hankook released details of similar price increases for North American consumers.

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Rolling Strong

(Akron/Tire Review) As the old saying goes, “Things will get worse before they get better.” That’s the operative statement for the North American commercial tyre industry in 2007.

In a proverbial nutshell, the OE forecast for 2007 looks down, while the replacement market will rebound from 2006.

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